Saturday, January 2, 2010

Regional Institutes

Regional Institutes
Regional Institutes are a key component
of FAIMER’s educational programs for
international health professions educators.
Beyond providing opportunities for
the exchange of information and skills,
these centers of activity also facilitate
networking among educators. These
networks can support improvement
in local health professions education
systems, which focus on local health care
needs.
The curriculum of FAIMER Regional
Institutes is based on the model of the
FAIMER Institute, held annually in
Philadelphia since 2001. Each Regional
Institute includes two residential
sessions (Sessions 1 and 3) held one
year apart, as well as two 11-month
distance learning sessions (Sessions 2
and 4), one following the first residential
session and one following the second
residential session. Also required is the
proposal and completion of an education
innovation project supported by the
participant’s home institution. The length
of the residential sessions as well as the
number of Fellows accepted each year
varies among the Regional Institutes. As
with the FAIMER Institute, second-year
Fellows meet and form a co-mentoring
relationship with the incoming class of
Fellows, building a network of regional
educators that continues to expand every
year.
In 2007, two new Regional Institutes
were launched in Brazil and India.
Final preparations were also made for
a Regional Institute in Southern Africa,
which commenced in February 2008.
Throughout 2007, planning also
continued for two additional Regional
Institutes—one in East Africa and one
in West Africa. In September 2007, in
conjunction with the Annual Meeting
of The Network: Towards Unity for
Health in Kampala, Uganda, William
Burdick, M.D., M.S.Ed., Associate Vice
President for Education and Co-Director
of the FAIMER Institute, convened a
planning meeting at which participants
laid the groundwork for the development
of these new Regional Institutes. The
meeting was attended by 10 FAIMER
Institute Fellows from Nigeria, South
Africa, Zambia, and Uganda.

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